Police say the homeowner saw Deyfon Pipkins, 33, trying to climb into the window and fired his weapon at least once at the intruder.

The homeowner is legally protected by the Castle Doctrine, which allows a person to defend his or her home against an intruder.

"It means they don't actually have to retreat once someone comes in their home," Sergeant Calvin Johnson, Dallas Police Department, said. "You have the option of using deadly force if you believe your life is in danger."

After police notified relatives of Pipkins' death, some showed up at the house. They were upset, and questioned the homeowner's actions.

"He could have used a warning," Lakesha Thompson, Pipkins' sister-in-law, said. "He could have let him know that he did have a gun on his property and he would use it in self-defense."

Pipkins had a lengthy criminal record. He served time in prison and was convicted of theft, possession of a Controlled Substance and criminal trespassing.

The homeowner has not been charged with anything, but Dallas police will refer the case to the Grand Jury to decide if he acted criminally in shooting the intruder.

An elderly man at home while a intruder was trying to break into his house. Should this man have just called the police and waited for them to show up?

the man should have done exactly what he did.

obviously, the emotional family will give us some bullshit, emotional crap like this. The newspaper knew the quote was so asinine that they printed it to get national re-posts of the story, which is exactly what happened